To our beloved daughter on her birthday!!!

Kate with "Auntie Sara" and her birthday cake

which (hopefully) says "Happy Birthday Pei Pei"

Kate's birthday dawning
Kate with grandma Sue B. and Sam on her birthday

Kate's Zhua Zhou "pick for the future" She picked an orange
indicating wealth and a book indicating literary interests.

To our darling Kathryn Pei-Jung,

Today you turned one year old!! What a blessing!! For your father, brothers and me it was the first time we could relish your birthday, smother you with love and whisper sweet nothings into your ears, regaling you with stories about the great joy you have brought to our lives. For you, of course, it was a second birthday. Your very first birthday took place in a far away land in the dawning hour of a new day. We were not with you then, but we were dreaming of you. We were not able to sit with your birth mother; to hold her hand, comfort her, look into her eyes and thank her for giving you life, but we wish we had been. We did not watch you slip into this world and take your first breath and for that we will always be a little sad because we are so sorry that we were not there to care for you EVERY SECOND of your precious life. We are so grateful, however, that you were able to spend time in Taiwan, the country of your birth. What a gift that your birth mother was able to hold and cuddle and coo to you when you were born and even in the months that followed. She made her deep love for you clear by nurturing you in her body for nine months, bestowing upon you a beautiful name and allowing you to become the treasured daughter in a family who could care for you in a way that she could not. We take such comfort in knowing that your early months were spent with a loving foster mother, Mrs. Lee, whom we had the great pleasure of meeting when we were in Taiwan. She was a lovely woman who emanated love and warmth and wept with joy and sadness when she placed you into our waiting arms. How exceptional that you were able to marinate for 6 1/2 months in the incredible sights, sounds and smells of La Isla Formosa, a country that enchanted us from the moment we set foot there. How thrilling it will be to return with you to visit this fascinating land.

We want all three of our children to enjoy rich satisfying lives, which may or may not include having children. There is really only one reason that we hope you might have children (in the VERY DISTANT future, mind you) and it is entirely selfish. Only when and if you have children of your own, either through birth or adoption, will you be able to FULLY comprehend the immeasurable unparalleled and profound sense of joy and fulfillment that a child brings to your life. Only then will you truly understand what a gift you have given to us simply by being. You are so loved dear Kate Pei Jung. Happy Birthday sweet daughter! Thank you for letting us love you. Mom and Dad.